What's on the Menu? May 27th 2011

It is that time of the menu cycle again. Braised Oxtails, Yellow Rice and Peas, Vegetable Medley will be served for lunch on Friday.

Oxtail (occasionally spelled ox tail or ox-tail) is the culinary name for the tail of cattle. Oxtail is a bony, gelatinous meat, and is usually slow-cooked, often stewed or braised. It is a good stock base for a soup.

Versions of oxtail soup are popular traditional dishes in South America, West Africa, China, and Indonesia. In Korean cuisine, a soup made with oxtail is called kkori gomtang (꼬리곰탕). It is a thick soup seasoned with salt and eaten with a bowl of rice. It can be used as a stock for making tteokguk (rice cake soup). Stewed oxtail with butter beans or as main dish (with rice) is popular in Jamaica, Trinidad, and other West Indian cultures. Oxtail is also eaten in southern parts of Africa like Zimbabwe and served with sadza and greens. In the US, oxtail is a mainstay in African American and Jamaican households.

Tomorrow our oxtails will be braised in a rich spiced curry gravy and cooked for several hours. Hope you are able to join us.

What's on the Menu? May 25th 2011

Tomorrows Menu will feature Tomato and Cheese Quiche for breakfast and Beef Lo Mein with Sesame Broccoli for lunch.

The term lo mein comes from the Cantonese lōu mihn (撈麵), meaning “stirred noodles”.
The Cantonese usage of the character 撈, pronounced lōu and meaning "to stir", differs from the character's usual meaning of "to dredge" or "to scoop out of water" in Mandarin, in which case it would be pronounced làauh or lòuh in Cantonese (lāo in Mandarin).In Mandarin, the dish is more typically called bàn miàn (拌麵), not to be confused with bǎn miàn (板麵).


In American Chinese restaurants, lo mein is a popular take-out food. In this setting, lo mein noodles are usually stirred with a sauce made from soy sauce and other seasonings. Such vegetables as bok choy and cabbage can be mixed in. Meats like roast pork, beef or chicken are often added. Shrimp lo mein, lobster lo mein, vegetable lo mein, and "House" lo mein (more than one meat) are sometimes available.

Join us for a meal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Everybody's got questions! Perhaps you want to know:
"What guides the food served at HCZ?"
"What is a healthy nutrition environment?"
"What menu options exist in the cafeteria?"

Look no further than our recently updated FAQ Page. Simply click on the question and it takes you to the full answer, often providing additional links to more resources.

Our FAQ list reflects the inquiries that we hear most often from students, parents, and staff members when we're talking to them about the food and nutrition environment at the Harlem Children's Zone. It's constantly evolving and being updated and we're happy to add new questions and answers. Do you have a question that isn't on the FAQ page? Post it as a comment and we'll do our best to answer it promptly.

News from the Armory

Do you love to dance? Do you want to get into shape while doing something you love? Are you ready to dance yourself into shape? If you answered yes to any of these questions then ZUMBA is for you!

The Harlem Children's Zone Healthy Living Initiative, in partnership with the New York Road Runners Foundation, is pleased to announce that they will be offering adult Zumba classes at the HCZ 369th Harlem Armory. Zumba classes will workout your muscles and burn calories with fun, easy to follow, Latin-inspired dance movements.

Classes will be held every Wednesday starting June 1st and ending on August 24th.
For the month of June classes will be from 7:30pm – 8:30pm. For July and August, classes will be from 6:00pm-7:00pm. All classes will be held at the HCZ 369th Harlem Armory, 40 West 143rd Street between Lenox Avenue And Fifth Avenue.

If you have any questions, please call Shaka Kinard at 212-281-5431 or e-mail hli@hcz.org.

How to Navigate An American Grocery Store

One of the issues we run into again and again in our community and in our own lives is the struggle for access to healthy, whole foods that are fresh and affordable. New York City recently identified East Harlem as one of the most severe "food deserts" in our city. According to the New York City Department of City Planning, a food desert is a term used to describe "communities characterized by not enough supermarkets and too many health problems. Within those dense, urban areas, the study estimated that 750,000 people live more than five blocks from a grocery or supermarket."


We know there is room for improvement in our community's food scene and we're excited about helping to encourage and support it. We are in the process of working with the city and our High School Student Wellness Council to Adopt-A-Bodega around the corner from our main building. And we've been busy working with our adult groups too--from parents to staff--to educate them about healthful, affordable ways to maximize their food budget in our evening cooking classes. 


This video, featuring well-known food journalist Michael Pollan, describes how even the modern American supermarket (if you're lucky enough to have a good one in your neighborhood) is designed to market you all kinds of food products you don't need, before offering you the basics like milk and eggs. Watch and learn and then the next time you're walking along 125th, ask yourself "how can I help encourage my community to create and support a healthier nutrition environment?" even beyond HCZ and Promise Academy.


One final note, we recently updated our Frequently Asked Questions page to include more complete answers and better information to some of the most common questions we hear from students, staff, and parents. Please check it out and we'd love to know what you think!

What's for lunch? May 18th 2011

Todays lunch menu features Chicken Marsala, Parmesan Orzo and Sauteed Spinach with Garlic Oil.

Chicken Marsala is an Italian dish made from chicken cutlets, mushrooms, and Marsala wine. The chicken is coated in flour, briefly sautéed, and then removed from the pan, which is then used to make a Marsala reduction sauce. The sauce is made by reducing the wine to nearly the consistency of a syrup while adding onions or shallots, as well as mushrooms, herbs and possibly other ingredients. The sauce is then poured over the chicken, which has been kept in a warming oven, and served immediately.


Chicken Marsala
Ingredients
1 1/2 lb chicken (breast, thighs)
Salt and Pepper to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup onion, diced
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup Marsala wine
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Place into oven and cook for approximately 20 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken is 165 degrees. While the chicken is cooking, add olive oil to heavy hot saucepan. Add onions, garlic, mushrooms, saute until mushrooms are tender. Add flour and cook about 1 minute then deglaze pan with Marsala wine. (pull pan away from stove when adding wine, may flame). Simmer for 5 minutes. Add chicken stock and cook until thick and flavors are blended. Arrange chicken on serving platter and pour sauce over the chicken.
Serves 4-6

Orzo??
Orzo pasta is a type of pasta which is made in the shape of a grain of rice. Orzo pasta is often about rice-sized, as well. This pasta is very versatile, and it can be used in a range of recipes, with many people consuming orzo in soups. Many markets carry orzo pasta, and several options may be available for consumers to choose from.

The word orzo is Italian for “barley,” and a reference to the size and shape of the pasta. You can also see orzo called kritharaki, manestra, rosa marina, reiskornpasta, or pasta gallo pion. This pasta is very popular in Greece especially, although it is used in other Mediterranean and Middle Eastern nations, and in some parts of Germany as well. The small size can make orzo a very fun pasta to work and cook with.
Bon Appetit!

What's for lunch? Tuesday, May 17th

Tomorrow we are serving Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes and String Bean Almondine for lunch.

In our quest to serve healthy well balanced meals, we are working with many local NYS farmers to get the freshest ingredients.

Our beef is also sourced locally and is grass fed. What would grass fed beef matter to me, you ask?
Perhaps the most amazing aspect of grass farming is that the meat offers tremendously significant health benefits. Grass fed beef contains high levels of Omega 3’s—the fatty acids that can reduce cholesterol and fight heart disease. In contrast, grain-finished animals from feedlots are high in Omega 6’s—the fatty acids that can raise cholesterol levels. In addition, grass fed beef offers 400 percent more vitamin A and E than commercial beef, and is rich in beta-carotene and conjugated linoleic acids, both major cancer inhibitors.
For additional information on Grass Fed Cattle:
http://www.johnrobbins.info/blog/grass-fed-beef/